£547m F1 team expected to bring ‘chunky’ update packages during second half of 2024

Follow us on Google Discover

As Formula 1 teams enter the final 10 races of the season, they will be bringing their last upgrades to their cars in a bid to extract performance.

Several of the teams at the sharp end of the grid are expected to bring important upgrades to their cars, as McLaren and Red Bull battle for the Constructors’ Championship.

At the back of the grid, F1 teams on fewer points have more development time to play with thanks to the Aerodynamic Testing Restrictions. This means teams like Williams and Sauber have a chance to put more parts through wind tunnel testing before they take them to the track.

After suffering a difficult start to the season, Wiliams has not brought any significant upgrade packages in the last few races. The £547 million F1 team is expected to rectify that in the second half of 2024 according to journalist Edd Straw on The Race podcast.

Williams expected to bring ‘chunky’ car updates

It was already known that Williams plans to bring a big update package to the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, having stagnated in the last few races before the summer break.

It is now revealed that the team also plans to bring more upgrades to their car in the second half of 2024, as it looks to catch Alpine and Haas in the fight for seventh in the Constructors’ Championship.

“2024 developments are tapering off, but there might be teams who feel they’ve got things they can bring that directly lead on to 2025,” said Straw.

“We will still see some packages coming in the second half of the year. Williams have got a couple of fairly chunky packages coming, having done very, very little in terms of upgrades in the first part of the year”

Williams update delays stem from previous problems

The start of the season for Williams was characterized by their problems over the winter when it was revealed that several of their facilities were out of date.

The team plans to upgrade them after team principal James Vowles successfully managed to get them an increase in capital expenditure allowance in F1’s financial regulations.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes relationship

Williams also faces the exciting prospect of having one of the strongest driver lineups on the grid next year, when Carlos Sainz will join Alex Albon after the former finally decided on his future.

Former F1 driver Damon Hill described the pairing as a ‘dream combination’ while Bernie Collins expects Albon to continue to be the team leader at Williams.